Maricopa County's mental-health fight spans 30 years

The battles over Maricopa County's mental-health system can be traced to 1979, when Arizona passed a law aimed to get the mentally ill out of the state hospital and back into the community.

By the 1960s, nearly 2,000 people lived in the state hospital, according to the Morrison Institute for Public Policy. At that time, people with serious mental illnesses were often sent to live in long-term care facilities, with little hope they would ever improve.

Then in 1979, Arizona lawmakers embraced a nationwide movement to place mentally ill people in less restrictive environments. They passed a law requiring the state to provide comprehensive care for the seriously mentally ill.

In 1981, Chick Arnold was Maricopa County's public fiduciary, responsible for the legal rights of vulnerable adults.

Arnold filed a class-action lawsuit against the county and state, naming then-Department of Health Services Director James Sarn. The suit alleged inadequate care. In 1986, the trial court sided with the plaintiffs, and the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the ruling in 1989. The state began developing a mental-health-care system.

In 1991, the sides agreed on a "blueprint" to resolve the lawsuit. A few years later, the two sides negotiated a narrower set of criteria to end the lawsuit if the state hit its targets.

A series of withering audits followed from the state's Office of the Court Monitor, whose sole purpose is to monitor the suit. This year, the auditor recommended scrapping the current system. The next court hearing is set for Sept. 17. - Casey Newton